From being nicknamed “Pickle Girl” during her first audition to becoming a Monday night must-watch, Genevieve Heyward’s journey on Season 24 of “American Idol” has come to an end.
Over 17 million votes were cast to narrow the Top 20 to the Top 14, and when host Ryan Seacrest read the names at the start of the March 30 episode – the first live show since the season premiered Jan. 26 – hers was not among them.
It felt like an abrupt end to the Lake Geneva native’s run on the ABC singing competition. Just a couple of hours before the episode aired, Heyward had shared photos on social media of her high-glam outfit for the night.
“Lots of drama tonight and I’m shaking in my fringe,” she wrote.
Auditioning for “American Idol” had been her dream since she was 6 years old and singing Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys songs with her karaoke machine, she told the Green Bay Press-Gazette ahead of the season.
Heyward, who cut her teeth as a musician in Door County when her parents moved there after her high school graduation, has been a touring artist since 2018. Her strong rock voice and ease onstage brought judges Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan to their feet multiple times, including all three for her version of Brandi Carlile’s “The Story” during Hollywood Week.
She also got to bring her parents along to the competition rounds in Hawaii, where she dedicated Elton John’s “Your Song” to her father, a Vietnam War veteran.
She currently splits her time between Nashville and Wisconsin. Fans in her home state can catch her at 8 p.m. June 14 for a recently announced show at the High Noon Saloon in Madison. Tickets are $19.25 at ticketmaster.com.
Kendra Meinert is an entertainment and feature writer at the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Contact her at 920-431-8347 or kmeinert@greenbay.gannett.com. Follow her on X @KendraMeinert.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Genevieve Heyward’s 2-month journey on ‘American Idol’ comes to an end
Reporting by Kendra Meinert, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
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